First Apprentice

Chapter 3 Part 3

His tongue flicked over his lips once before he visibly steeled himself. I mentally crowed. A reaction, finally! "Mitchel is my brother. We fought side by side for over eight centuries. He doesn't keep secrets from me."

Nice try, but Grandfather needed secrets like most people needed air. "If he didn't keep secrets, we wouldn't be having this discussion nor would I currently have my hand embedded in your friend's chest. However, you do have a point. As I don't know exactly what Grandfather revealed, let's change existence to birth clan and rank."

Unease flashed across his aura as if he sensed the trap lurking in my offer. "It would help if I knew more about your," he hesitated, "unique situation."

"Oath first," I said and flashed my fangs at him. "David can't wait forever."

"Fine," Joel said, flexing his hands as if he dreamed of throttling me. "Anything else?"

"No penalty or report for feeding the Central Keystone."

"For you or the idiot who taught you the summons?"

I rolled my eyes. "For your information, no one has ever taught me a summons. I hear them. All of them. Always have, always will."

A sharp gasp from my prey indicated I'd revealed something I shouldn't. My gaze traveled back to Joel. Dandelion yellow sparks danced around him, overtaking the red until only his excitement remained.

Rainer's bones, he knew. Maybe not the whole truth, but enough. Would he blackmail me and threaten my family until I obeyed him or worse? If he realized I was still immature, all he needed to do was challenge me for mating rights. I would lose. My own instincts would force me into submission because my primal side equated mating with survival. It didn't care what I would lose as long as I was alive. But I cared. If he challenged me, the oath no longer mattered. He would control me, own me.

"We're agreed." Shock rolled through me. He obviously suspected, but didn't push the issue. Why not? A challenge would force me to release David. Of course, David might die while Joel and I fought. "Now, release him."

"After you swear the oath. One last thing. My bonded family will not be prosecuted in any way for any crime they may have committed by teaching and shielding me, including treason. Non-negotiable."

A black talon swiped across Joel's fingertip. As the second droplet fell, he bowed his head. "I, Joel-dae of the Marstow, Chief Haydn's chosen son, agree to the terms set forth by," he looked at me askance.

"Alannah, Mitchel-dae of the Shedu's chosen granddaughter," I replied. A birth name and family affiliation were more than adequate for a blood oath. He didn't need to know my full name, rank, or clan.

After he repeated my name, I placed my free hand on David's shoulder and steadied him. "Can you heal him or should I teleport him to Uncle Manfred?"

In answer, Joel's body slumped to the floor as a wraith rose out of it. The ghost silently crossed the room until he stood behind me. His breath, which I shouldn't feel given his state, felt warm on the back of my neck. A shiver went down my spine. Why could I feel his when I couldn't Endellion's or Uncle Manfred's? Where they never this close or was it something else?

"Don't move. Don't shift. Let my magic replace yours before you withdraw." His magic flooded my senses. Smooth and fathomless like a mountain lake after a storm. Gentler than I expected, but with a hint of steel. Beautiful, which he probably didn't appreciate being male, and deadly. When his magic enveloped me, encasing each thread I'd woven into David's soul with one of its own, warmth pooled in my stomach and my breath caught in my throat.

Instincts I thought I'd suppressed after the Jon incident surfaced. If they could talk, they would whisper about his delicious magic, how he could balance my powers, help me survive. A worthy mate.

Ruthlessly, I quashed that thought. I neither needed nor wanted a mate. Even if I did, this wasn't the time or place. His magic prodded mine and I began to withdraw. All told, it took half an hour to disentangle my magic from David's and another hour for Joel to put him back to rights. I could have left during the healing. Simply taken my things and calmly walked out the door. Then either summoned a gate or disappeared into the slums. I could have run. I should have, but I didn't.